Tropical Cyclone Mala formed in the Bay of Bengal on April 24, 2006. The cyclone has been gradually building strength and size. As of April 28, it was heading towards Myanmar, possibly coming ashore there on or around April 29.

This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on April 28, 2006, at 10:05 a.m. local time (04:05 UTC). Cyclone Mala was quite transformed from two days prior. At the time of this image, the storm had the well-developed eye, tight-wound shape, and strong winds of a powerful storm. Sustained, peak winds in the storm system were roughly 210 kilometers per hour (130 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured.

The high-resolution image provided above is provided at the full MODIS spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions.